Chapter 8 - They Took the Little Girl Who Had Given Me Back My LegsI searched every room.
Nothing.
Security reviewed footage.
A service door had opened at 2:17 a.m.
The cameras were disabled for exactly ninety seconds.
Someone had known the system.
Someone inside.
I turned to Diego.
“Who had access?”
He hesitated.
“Four people.”
“Names.”
He listed them.
One name destroyed me.
Elena.
My assistant.
Again.
She was missing too.
I found her car two miles away.
Inside was a note.
You trusted the wrong person.
I drove to her last known location.
A warehouse.
Empty.
Except for a chair.
A child's drawing was taped to it.
A house.
A little girl.
A man in a wheelchair.
And three shadows behind them.
I cried when I saw it.
Lucía had drawn it.
She was telling me where she had been taken.
The three shadows.
Three people.
The three remaining Project Lumen leaders.
Ambrose.
The minister.
The biotech billionaire.
They had Lucía.
And they wanted me.
A phone rang.
I answered.
Ambrose.
“You finally understand.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“You'll see her.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What do you want?”
“Your body.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You mean the research.”
“Yes.”
“And Lucía.”
“Yes.”
“What happens if I refuse?”
“You've seen what happens when people refuse us.”
“I'll find you.”
“I hope you do.”
The call ended.
I looked at Diego.
“We need a plan.”
That plan began with the old Lumen facility.
We infiltrated it at midnight.
I walked for the first time without a wheelchair.
Every step hurt.
Every step felt miraculous.
And every step reminded me why I couldn't fail.
We found research files.
Children's names.
Medical histories.
Failures.
Deaths.
I saw Lucía's file.
Subject 17.
Then I found mine.
Adult Subject A-01.
Underneath:
Neurological response confirmed after tactile stimulation.
The physician signature was Dr. Adrian Vega.
He hadn't disappeared.
He was alive.
Working for Ambrose.
We found the laboratory.
Empty.
Except for a recording.
Ambrose appeared on screen.
“Alejandro.”
“Your recovery has exceeded projections.”
“You've become worth more than your company.”
“Your legs are now proof.”
I stared.
Then the screen changed.
Lucía appeared.
She was sitting on a chair.
Not crying.
Holding her white stone.
Ambrose said:
“She has one more lesson to teach you.”
Lucía looked directly into the camera.
“Don't trust the man who smiles too much.”
I frowned.
Then the video ended.
Diego looked at me.
“What does she mean?”
I thought of Ambrose.
Then remembered someone else.
Someone who always smiled.
My own doctor.
Dr. Laurent.
My blood ran cold.
He had been present when Lucía first touched my legs.
He had been involved in every stage of my recovery.
He had access.
I called him.
No answer.
We returned to the clinic.
His office was empty.
But his computer was unlocked.
Files transferred.
Payments received.
From Ambrose.
Dr. Laurent had betrayed me.
I felt crushed.
He had been one of the few doctors I still trusted.
Then I found another file.
A payment from Ambrose dated eleven years ago.
To Elena.
My assistant.
Everyone around me had been compromised.
Except Diego.
And perhaps my father.
A new message arrived.
MIDNIGHT. OLD OPERA HOUSE. COME ALONE.
I was ready to go.
Then Diego grabbed my arm.
“You're not going alone.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“Lucía needs me.”
“So do we.”
I looked at him.
He smiled.
“We bring the whole team.”
That night, the old opera house became the battlefield.
We entered through the underground tunnels.
Ambrose's men were waiting.
The lights came on.
Ambrose stood center stage.
Lucía sat beside him.
And behind them stood my father.
My stomach dropped.
“My father?”
May you like
Ambrose smiled.
“You see, Alejandro, everything comes back to family.”
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